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After 14 months away from the ring, super middleweight Tarvis Simms (26-1-1, 11 KOs) was successful in his first fight since signing a deal with Main Events in November. The Connecticut native fought veteran Willis Lockett on Thursday on the Adamek-Maddalone undercard at Prudential Center, cruising to a unanimous decision victory.

“It felt great, you know,” Simms said at his post-fight press conference. “I knew that I was going to more than likely experience being a little rusty, but that comes with the territory.”

Simms immediately came out working his jab, and he was doing a nice job of countering the advances of Lockett with some well-plotted combinations. He had his opponent hurt when the final minute of the first round approached, eventually dropping his opposition when he finished off a flurry with a right hand very late in the frame. Lockett was able to use the break between rounds to gain some recovery, but Simms came out looking very strong in the ensuing frames. He looked to be in complete control of the action, but he later admitted that he was not entirely satisfied with his performance.

“I felt I had him hurt in the early round, and I started forcing my shots instead of sticking to the game plan – stay behind my jab and box his ears off,” he reflected.

The remaining frames in this bout were more of the same, with Simms maintaining control by anticipating the tactics of Lockett and firing off combinations when the opportunity presented itself. He looked rather fit for someone who had not been in the ring for over a year, and he appeared to shake off the ring rust as the fight carried on. When the six rounds of action eventually concluded, Simms swept every round and took the unanimous decision win by tallies of 60-53, 60-53 and 60-54.

When Simms was asked about what was next after the bout, the 39-year-old fighter said he would quickly begin training for his next competition.

“There’s no time off for me,” he explained. “I’m going right back in the gym and staying in training. If Kathy (Duva, Main Events CEO) feels like she wants to step me up to eight (rounds) in my next bout, I’m ready to do that. Whatever she wants me to do, I’m willing to do that. And I’m going to train my butt off, and I’ll be ready.”